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v (N Mqdel.) 3 SheetsSheet 1-. D. A. SPRAGUE & S. PERRY.

WAGON RUNNING GEAR.

No. 363,428. Patented May 24, 1887.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2; D. A. SPRAGUE & S. PERRY.

WAGON RUNNING GEAR.

No. 363,428. Patented May 24, 1887.

(No Model,) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. I

D. A. SPRAGUE & S. PERRY.

- WAGON RUNNING GEAR.

No. 363,428. Patented May 24 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL A. SPRAGUE, or POLAND,

- NEW;

AND STUART PERRY, OF NEWPORT, YORK.

"WAGON RUNNING-GEAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 363,428. dated May 24,1887.

Application filed November 19, [886. Serial No. 219,401. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, DANIEL A. SPRAGUE and STUART PERRY, of-Poland andNewport,

respectively, in the county of Herkimer and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Wagons; and we do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to a locking-gear? for draft or other wagons, theobject being to provide a simple and comparatively cheap mechanismwherebythe undue vibration of the front axle and the draftpole or shaftswill be prevented, and in this way render locomotion of the wagon on anuneven or stony roadbed less fatiguing to the draft-animals by obviatingthejerking and thrashing of the draftpole upon the fore quarters andlimbs of the horses that are attached to it.

A further object is to providea mechanism consisting of links andcross'bars pivoted together and to the running-gear of a. Wagonconstructed with either two cross-reaches or a single center reach, tocoact therewith and lock either one or both axles with increasingfirmness, as the draft or other force trans mitted by the levers isincreased, without causing a perfectly rigid or dead lock of therunninggear of the wagon when it is being moved in any direction.

A further object is to construct a locking and draft gear for wagons, sothat but little expensive manual labor is needed in its production, andthus permit manufacture of the same at a low initial cost.

With these objects in view our invention consists in certain features ofconstruction and con'lbinations of parts, as will be hereinafterdescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings making a part of this specification, Figure l is a planView of the run-' ning-gear of a two -horse wagon with the wheelsremoved. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the running-gear with the parts in aposition incidental to the turning of a two-horsewagon in a curveddirection. Fig. 3 is a side view of the connected parts of a two-horsewagon. Fig. 4 is a front view with the pole elevated.

Fig. 5 is a plan View of a modification of the locking-gear to attach itto a single-horse wagon. Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan View of the rearportion of the draft-pole with its socket end in section to showinterior parts.

A B represent, respectively, the frontand rear axles of the wagon. Atfour points near the inner terminations of the wheel-spindles (L aremounted upon the upper surface of the axles the inwardly-curvedbolsterslides 0. These plates are all in the same horizontal plane, andare held securely in connection with the body of the axles AB by bracketclamping-plates B. These plates are inwardly extended to afford lugs forthe pivotal attachment of the diagonal reaches 0 0. These reaches 0' Chave each a pivotal-joint attachment at their ends. These joints, beingmade each of two plates, 1 2, that are suitably bent to make their upperperforated ends, 1, have surface contact with the under sides of thebolsteivslides O on their inner limbs, and the lower parallel ears ofplates 2 have a bearing on the extensions of the clamps B, a pivotbolt,b, passing through each bolster-slide and other adjacent parts to form ahorizontallymovable joint at each of the four points 4c 5 6 7 on thefront and rear axles, A B. (See Fig. 1.) The pole or tongue D of thewagon is connected directly with the center of the front axle on itsunder side by a loop, E, made of such material and proportionatethickness as to have proper strength laterally. It has an eye formed atits front or free end, the rear to the axle by bolts, clips, or anyother approved method. Upon the rear end of the draft-pole D asocket-piece, D, is secured. This is made of metal, and is soconstructed as to answer the double purpose of a ferrule for the endfinish of the pole, and also as a guide-box for the slide-hook Dflthatisinserted in a longitudinal perforation made axially in the socket topermit a free reciprocal movement of the hook-bolt D therein, the bodyof the pole being also perforated a' limited distance to permit a boltof proper length to be introduced.

The bolt D has a hook or other proper simi lar provision made on itsfree end to effect a termination of the loop E being secured firmlyhinged connection of this end with the eye of the loop E, and thus allowthe draft-pole to have vertical play as well as the limited longitudinalmovement just explained. (See Fig. 6.)

At a proper point in the body of the pole a vertical perforation is madeto receive apivotbolt, 7. The pole at this point should be reenforcedwith suitable stay-plates. The bars Gare made of proper strength, andare pivoted to the pole D by the insertion of the' pivot-bolt h throughan eye made in their pole ends.

The branched bars G are made with an integral bent portion, H, that isgiven a rightangle bend to cause the lower piece, H, to lie in a planeparallel to the main upper bar, G, and have sufficient space tointervene between these parts to form a clevis for the pivotalattachment of the draft-bars G to the body of the pole D, the pivot-bolth being inserted through these parts and secured in place byscrew-threads cut on one. end with jam-nuts on it, or other propermeans.

At points m in directly opposite each other on the forward ends of thediagonal reaches 0 G the draw-bars L are preferably attached rigidly totheir inner or other faces. These draw-bars L are bent from a flat barof metal by'giving the material a quarter-twist from the rearbearing-pad, u, to bring the flat side of the bar front, the'free end ofthe bar extending downwardly a proper distance to permit a right-anglebend forward of the material, to render the body of the link horizontaland.v capable, from this method of construction, of being held insliding contact with the under side of the forward axle, A. We do'notdesire to restrict ourselves to an absolute rigidity of connection ofthe bars L to the reaches 0- O, as a pivoted j oint will also answerthepurposes sought, but is more expensive and unnecessary to use in thisattachment of parts.

The description just given of the method of constructing the draw-bars Lis the same in both cases, with the exception that the quartertwistofthe material and set of the bearingpadu tothediagonal face of eachreach must be reversed to suit their relative posit-ion on right andleft side of the wagon;

It will be noticedthat the'rigid connection ofthe rear ends of thedraw-bars L to the diagonal reaches 0 (J is made some distance to therear of the pivot-joints at the front ends of the reachbars' To thedraw-bars L the outwardlyextending short links Pare pivoted. These linksP extend aproper distance to connect their outer ends, 1*,pivotallywiththe clamp-plates B by the insertion of the vertical pivot-bolt b,that is thecenter of motion of the forward-joints of the reaches 0 G.Tothe forward ends of the link-bars L arepivoted the loops L L". The

loops L L are permittedto have a limited vibration on their points ofpivotal connection with the link-bars L, for apurpose that will behereinafter explained.

The free ends of the branched draft-bars G 1 it and the lower surface ofthe front axle, A

are bent or otherwise formedlo enter theloops L L and are properlysecured in place to permit a vertical vibratory movement of the pole D;and in order to accomplish this motion the center hinged connection atthe rear end of the pole D is preferably made to line with the sidejoints just mentioned, and all of these joints, to work freely, shouldhave the plane of their pivotal motion parallel to the front face of theaxle A when the pole D is directly to the front or at a right angle tothis face of the axle A. A bearing-plate, I, is attached at its ends topermit a space to intervene between upon which it is located. This plateis in tended to afford a proper sliding surface for the support of thedraw-bars L,that are introduced between it and the lower surfaceof theaxle.

A fifth-wheel is not necessary in this form of wagon-gear; but a properanti-friction bearing-surface is provided by rigidly-secured metallicplates located on thetop face of each axle at the centerbearing of thebolsters, which are of the ordinary form, and pivoted at the center tothe forward and rear axle to carry the body, with the exception thatthey have end bearings or rollers provided, which bear upon the archedbrackets or bolster-slides O, metallic wearing plates being provided atthese points of contact; and as these latter features are not embracedin our present invention as a novelty, they are not shown in thedrawings.

In operation the action of turning the wagon from astraight line todescribe curves of a varying radius the diagonal reaches 0 O and thedraw-bars L, with their loops L L and short links 1?, move ontheirrespective pivotconnections, so as to draw the inner spindles of thefront and rear axles towardja common center point, and two longitudinallines produced from the centers of the wheels describing the innercurves will intersect at a point central to bothspindles, as shown inFig. 2.

When the draft of the load-is directly forward, the draft-pole D is heldby its connection in a position at a right angle to the front axle, A,and from the manner of connecting the draw-barsLto the reaches 0 O by aproper attachment back of the pivotal end joints these bars, when actedupon by the draft on their front ends, transmit the energy expended onthese ends to the reaches 0 G and hold-the angular pivot-connection ofthe forward and also the rear ends of these reaches to a degree rigid orpartially locked to prevent undue ;oscillation of the spindle ends, or asidesway of the wagon-pole.

Should one of the wheels of a wagonfprovided with this locking-gear)encounter aninf surmountable or immovable obstacle, that otherwise wouldcause breakage or injury to theattachedparts, a yielding movement willbe afforded that is sufficient to obviatethe contingency of accidentjust mentioned.

An inspection of Figs. 1 and 2 will show that the pivotal points ofconnection of the links 1? with the plates 13 and draw-bars L are thefulcrums of vibratory motion of compound levers that are formed by theconnection of the shafts or pole D and the cross reaches 0 O in themanner and by the appliances exhibited in these figures. Thelongarms ofthese composite levers just mentioned extend to the front of the pointswhere the links P are pivotally secured to the bars L, the shorter limbsextending to the rear to attach to the diagonal reaches 0 C, as shown.It is manifest that the draft force applied to the pole D and itsadjunctivc parts that transmit this energy to the reaches 0 G willmeasurably lock theforward pivotal joints made between these reaches andthe axle A, and that this resistance to deviate from a straightforwardprogressive movement will increase in proportion to an increased inertiaand consequent augmentation of the draft force necessary to overcome it.

The encounter of ordinary road obstructions will be resisted by thepreponderance of leverage afforded by this device; but if an obstaele ofunusual magnitude is encountered the obstructed wheel will diverge froma straight track and prevent breakage, as before stated. The pole D canthus be turned horizontally to the right or left to change the directionof the wagon with the same ease as in ordinary wagons that vibrate on afifth-wheel or king-bolt. Atthe center of the frontaxle in Fig. 2 thedivergence of the draft-pole D is shown and the position of the relativeparts when these arein such adjustment.

The lateral vibration of the pole D or shafts will cause the slide boltD to move inwardly in its socket to accommodate the swing movement, andthe pivoted loops L L" will also turn on their fuicrums to permit thislateral movement. The receding of the draw-bar, together with the inwardmovement of its mated draw-bar on side of the wagon that is making theinner curve,will increase the leverage of the pole to overcome thelocking action pro duced by the progressive and lateral motions that arenow combined, and by this increase oflever-power the turning will bereadily execnted, whileat the same time undue or im' proper oscillationof the axle or vibration of the pole D is prevented. It is also apparentthat a retrograde movement of the wagon will give the same result as aforward motion to prevent whipping of thepole or free swinging motionofthe front axle; and,further, thelocking of the front axle and itspivotal connections with the cross-reaches will effectually lock therear axle, as its pivotal joints,with the reaches C 0,'are locked by themeasurable rigidity ofthe front joints of these reaches in an obviousmanner.

It should be stated that the construction of the joints between thebranched draw-bars G and the lateral draw-bars L, together with thecombined length of these connected parts, should be so proportioned tothe jointed conneetion'of the draft-pole D to the center of the axle Athat all or the larger proportion of the draft force required toovercome the weight of the wagon and its load will be thrown upon theside draft-bars, L, the center connection being mainly of use to givehorizontal directive movement to the front axle near the center ofhorizontal vibratory motionof this axle.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5 the locations of the draw-bars L andlateral links P are changed to adapt these principal features to therunninggear of an ordinary single-horse wagon. The shafts are by theircross-bats M secured to the short center bar, N, that extendsrearwardly, and the branched draft-bars Gare pivotally attached at apoint on the bar N between these cross-bars. The branched draftbars Gare secured with hinged joints to the forward ends of the flat draw-barsL. These bars extend through horizontal slits in the this reach by acenter bolt secured th rough the body of the reach Y. The edges ofthelinks P,

by the position given them, form angles of about forty-five degrees withthe edges of the drawbars L. The rear end of the center bar,N, is pref--erably attached by a joint the same as shown on the double-horse pole ortongue. In operation the same results follow as are obtained byanalogous means in the previously'described device for a double-horsewagon.

The draft of the load can be mainly transmitted to the two lateraldraw-bars L, that are pivoted to thecrossbars of the hounds, andpreferably is so transmitted. The draft of a horse upon a loadedwagonhas a tendency to draw the lever draft-bars L inward in a linenearly parallel to the reach-pole; and as these bars L and their pivotedlinks I? have to diverge from their normal position to permit a swingingmovement of the front axle, A, it follows that this axle will be to adegree locked, while a direct draft is made on the points to which powermay be applied through a singletree pivoted to the center bar, N, and nosudden jerking vibrations will result from an uneven or stony road-bed.

It is evident that if desired thepole may be removed from the wagon thatis constructed.

with diagonal reaches, and a pair of shafts or thills, constructed asshown and described herein, may be utilized, and also that a pole may besubstituted for shafts in the wagon last described with equally goodresults in every respect. The peculiar method of constructing themetallic portions of this lockinggear permits the economical use of asuitable gage of bar-iron or soft steel bars, that can be cut to length,and with but little h and-work or ICO blacksmithing may be bent ordropped by a power-hammer and formed into shape, sothat strong andshapely gear may be produced ata low cost for labor; and it is alsoevident that the distribution of material and method of connecting andbracing the parts will afford a strong durable wagon with a minimumconsumption of material and consequent reduction in cost for same.

In regard to the method herein shown of transmitting draft force fromthe pole or shafts to the drawbars L, we do not desire to restrictourselves to the specific device shown, as it is evident that otheranalogous means may be employed for this purpose-as, for instance, asolid bar may be bent to form an angular draft-iron. which by apivot-connection to the pole and hinged attachment to the front ends ofthe draw-bars will effect a transmission of draft force thereto; or across-piece at a right angle to the pole D may be connected by links tothe front ends of the draft bars L and accomplish the same results.

Further, in respect to the device shown for the connection of the rearend of the pole D with the front axle A, so as to obtain a limitedreciprocal movement, as well as a vertical Vl bration of this pole, wedo not wish to be confined to this means of obtaining such results, aswe have in contemplation that several'analogous methods may beemployedas, for example, a socket-tube may be mounted on brackets bylateral journals or trunnions, the brackets being affixed rigidly to thecenter of the front axle to permit a vibration of the socket-tube. Around bolt that will slide neatly in the trunnioned tube is axiallyinserted and rigidly secured in the rear end of the pole, which can bythese instrumentalities be afforded a reciprocal and also a verticalmotion. Another obvious means of accomplishing this result is by thepivoting at the center of the front axle of two or three sections of thewellknown lazy-tongs levers to give a limited reciprocal action.

It is evident thatthe mechanism of the several parts described may bevaried in form and arrangement in other ways than those above mentionedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of our invention; hence wedo not desire to limit ourselves strictly to the construction herein setforth; but,

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Awagon having a pole or shafts, and pro vided with suitable devicesfor transmitting all or a sufficient portion of the draft or other forceappliedin runningit to diagonal reaches, and through these, by means ofpivotal connections, therewith, to the axles, to measurably lock andprevent the latter from being swayed by the wheels when they meet roadobstructions, substantially as set forth.

2. A wagon having a pole or shafts, and provided with suitable devicesfor transmitting all or a sufficient share of the draft or other forceapplied in running it to a reach, and through the same, by means of itspivotal connections therewith, to the front axle, to measurabl y lockand prevent the latter from being swayed by its wheels when runningagainst or over road obstructions, substantially as set forth.

3. A wagon having a draft-pole or shafts hinged to the center ofa frontaxle to have vertical play, and provided with side draftbars to transmitall or the major portion of draft force applied to the pole or shafts toparts of the running gear that are in the rear of the front axle,substantially as set forth.

4. A wagon having a draft-pole or shafts hinged to the center of thefront axle to move vertically, and pivotally connected by frontdraft-bars hinged to two side draft-bars, these side bars extendingrearwardly and attached to two diagonal'reaches that are pivotallysecured to the front and rear axles, substantially as set forth.

5. A wagon having a pole or shafts so hinged and jointed to the centerof the front axle as to have both longitudinal and vertical play, andprovided with side draft-bars to transmit all the draft or other forceapplied in running the wagon or a portion of such force sufficient tomeasurably lock and prevent said axle or both axles from being swayed bythe wheels when they meet road obstructions, substantially as set forth.

6. A wagon having apole or shafts so hinged or jointed to the center ofthe front axle and so pivotally connected by bars with the running-gearthat the angles made by either pole or shafts with this axle are changedwhenever the angles of the latter with its reach or reaches are changedin the running or by the turning of the wagon, by which means theleverage of said pole or shafts is or are increased to pre ventaxle-swaying causedby road obstructions, substantially as set forth.

7. In a wagon, the combination, with the front axle, of a draft-pole orshafts pivotally connected with draw-bars and links to a reach, so as totransmit sufficient draft force to these bars and links and reach tomeasurably lock by their action the front axle from a vibratory motionthat is effected by other means than the draftpole or-shafts,substantially as set forth.

8. In a wagon, the combination,with a front axle, of a draft-pole orshafts so pivotally connected with draw-bars and links to two diagonalreaches and a rear axle as to transmit sufficient draft force to thesebars, links, and reaches to measurably look by their action the frontand rear axles from a vibratory motion that is produced by other meansthan the draft-pole or shafts, substantially as set forth.

9. In a wagon,the combinatiomwith'th'e front and rear axles and diagonalreaches pivoted to them, of a draftpole or shafts pivotally connected todraft-bars which are attached by their rear ends rigidly or pivotally tothe front ends of the diagonal reaches, so that sufficient draft forceis transmitted to lock the pivotjoints of the reaches and preventvibration of the front and rear axles when their wheels encounterobstructions, substantially as set forth.

10. In a wagon, the combination, with the front axle, of a draft-pole orshafts pivoted to the center of this axle to permit a vertical movementof the pole or shafts, draft-bars that receive the major portion of thedraft or other force and transmit it to pivoted draft-bars which arerigidly or pivotally attached to diagonal reaches, so as to lockmeasurably the front and rear axles from vibratory motion other thanthat communicated by the lateral movement of the draft-pole or shafts,substantially as set forth.

11. In a wagon, the combination, with the front and rear axle andpivotally-attached diagonal reaches, of a center pole or shaftscentrally attached by a hinge that permits vertical movement, draw-barshinged to clips pivoted to plate draw-bars, which latter are attachedsecurely to the diagonal reaches,a short link pivoted to each draw-barto connect it with the pole or shafts through the bars, that are pivotedto the pole, plate draw-bars and links transmitting the effective draftforce, so as to measurably lock the front and rear axles from leavingplanes parallel to each other,con-' ing witnesses.

' DANIEL A. SPRAGUE.

STUART PERRY. Witnesses:

J. '1. Woosrnrt, ELISEA THORNTON.

